The recent abductions of Syriac Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and his Greek Orthodox counterpart, Paul Yazigi, reflect not only the increasing brutality of Syria's civil war, but also the escalating crisis for Christians across the Arab world — one that could end up driving them away altogether.
According to the International Society for Human Rights, 80 percent of all acts of religious persecution worldwide in 2012 were directed at Christians.
This surge in discrimination against Christian communities in countries where they have lived for many centuries can be explained largely by increasing Islamist militancy and the rise of political Islam in the wake of the Arab Spring.